The two photos of John Allen Ditullio are a sharp contrast: There's the man donning red jail scrubs with a large swastika on his neck, barbed wire inked down his face, and a long, scraggly goatee.

Then, there's the man in the blue dress shirt with a slight tattoo under his right eye and a neatly trimmed goatee.

Same man. One with inflammatory ink, one without.

That's because a Pasco County judge ordered the state to pay for a cosmetologist to cover up Ditullio's tattoos during his murder trial last year.

It's just one example of how ink can play a role in the criminal justice system.

Detectives use tattoos to identify suspects. Prison officials use them to spot gang members. Defense attorneys often scramble to make sure they are hidden.

More than 45 million Americans sport at least one tattoo, according to one report, giving themselves — and everyone else — a permanent, unmistakable tag.

And for those in the criminal justice system, that ink can be vital.

Law-enforcement officers in Central Florida routinely document identifying marks like tattoos and scars on criminal suspects and other people they come in contact with. Some jails — such as Seminole and Lake — do too.

If a suspect doesn't want to give their real name, tattoos can help deputies learn the truth. If there are several people with the same name, a tattoo can help distinguish who's who.

Law enforcement

Orlando police used tattoos to differentiate identical twins Dante and Donte Hall, both of whom were convicted for their roles in a deadly robbery spree in Eustis several years ago.

Donte Hall sometimes confused authorities by claiming to be his brother. But he got a neck tattoo, which gave his true identity away.

Detective Eduardo Lopez said officers once tracked down a fugitive wanted in New York for murder, but he gave the Orlando authorities a false name.

The officers, suspecting they had the right guy, cross-checked his tattoos with those listed in a national law-enforcement database — and were able to identify him that way.

In Lake County, sheriff's detectives spotted a robber's "DUVAL" neck tattoo in surveillance footage from a Walgreens last year. Investigators used that tattoo to identify the robber as Donny Pierce.

Tattoos are so noteworthy for the Lake County Sheriff's Office that its staff photographs all the ink on inmates booked into the jail, and then posts the photos on its website.

"Tattoos can be very important in identifying someone, as they are usually very unique to the individual who wears it," said Sgt. Jim Vachon. "Tattoos can even tell a story as to a person's affiliations and background."

That can be especially true of gang members, who often ink themselves with symbols identifying their gang affiliation, making it easier for law enforcement to make criminal connections.

"I loved when the gang members brand themselves," said Lopez, who used to work in the Orlando Police Department's gang unit.

Fernando Lopez

Accused Westside gang member Fernando Lopez was one of 18 members and associates arrested last year on accusations they were responsible for bringing millions of dollars worth of cocaine and marijuana into Central Florida.

He pleaded guilty earlier this year and is slated to be sentenced this month, according to court records.

According to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent, many of Lopez's tattoos are prison and "thug life" related — walls, shackles, barbed wire, spider webs, skulls and demons.

On his left arm, Lopez has a tattoo of a person firing a machine gun and wearing a shirt with the letters "APK."

APK, the agent said, stands for a documented gang in northwest Orange County: Apopka Police Killers. Lopez belonged to APK when he was young, the agent said, then is suspected of switching to Westside.

Jail and prison inmates

The Florida Department of Corrections documents inmate tattoos and posts detailed lists on the agency's website with the criminal's information.

Corrections staff use the tattoos to identify gang members for security purposes — they don't want to put rival gang members in the same units, which could lead to prison fights or riots.

"A tattoo is like a fingerprint. It's an identifier," said Michelle Jordan, who works in the Department of Correction's security threat and intelligence unit. Jordan estimates that most of the people who come through Florida's prison system have a tattoo.

At the New York Police Department, a database allows officers to quickly search for someone's tattoos — they can even conduct a reverse search by entering the tattoo information if they don't have a suspect name.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne gave one example of how this database has been key for the agency:

The manager of a pizza restaurant who was robbed spotted a tattoo on his assailant's neck with the word "sugar."

Officers searched the database and in a matter of minutes realized there were a lot of people with a "sugar" tattoo. But most of those were prostitutes, Browne said.

There were only two men, and officers were able to narrow it down quickly.

Lawyers

If a suspect goes to trial, their tattoos could be an issue, just as it was in the Ditullio case.

Defense attorneys say they advise heavily inked clients to cover up with clothing — or in extreme cases, makeup — so the jury isn't influenced by the tattoos.

"You have to worry about what perception the jury will have," said veteran criminal defense attorney Trish Cashman.

Cashman said she had one client with a tattoo of a state prison where he previously was housed — she advised him to wear long sleeves so the jury wouldn't see it.

She also had a client who had "jackass" tattooed across his forehead.

"Certainly the worst is the client who has the tear tattooed on his face," she said.

There are variations of the teardrop tattoo and they have different meanings, but often indicate the wearer killed someone or had someone close to them die.

Used to help ID victims

Detectives also use tattoos to identify victims in all kinds of cases.

When a woman's remains were found in woods near Eatonville last summer, Orange County sheriff's detectives released pictures of her tattoos to the public with hopes someone might recognize them.

It worked.

Within days, detectives determined the woman was Lashanda Brand, and said she was identified because of her ink.

Tattoos get a bad rap?

Sailor Bill Johnson, vice president of the National Tattoo Association and owner of Tattoo Time in Maitland, said he often hears stories about criminals being caught and victims being identified because of their ink.

And at one time — 30 years ago — the public perception was if you had a tattoo, you were in a biker gang, a criminal, or in the military, he said.

But that was then.

"The mindset of that has changed dramatically," Johnson said.

Celebrities and professional athletes have helped make tattoos more acceptable, and tattoos have gained in mass popularity over the past 10 years.

Now, Johnson said, only a small percentage of people with tattoos are criminals or in a gang.

Rocky Rakovic, editor of Inked magazine, said most people get tattooed as a form of self-expression, and also, for fashion.

"Tattooing was once for the guys and gals on the fringe, but now it's everywhere," Rakovic said. "It's come from motorcycle gangs to minivans."